For those who enjoy my numerous classic book recommendations, here’s one more–Christmas classics, a whole category unto themselves! We’re all familiar with the smorgasbord of inspirational and entertaining holiday movies, so I don’t need to address that, but the holiday season can be an especially fun time to enjoy read-alouds as a family, or private reading as well. And some of these Christmas-themed books are great for catching the Christmas spirit and maintaining it throughout the season. Here are some our family has enjoyed in past years.

The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg – the book that inspired the movie. It’s a keeper.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson – Let the Herdmans endear themselves to you.

Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge – Does anyone even know about this story anymore? My first introduction to it was when my class performed it for the parents when I was in fourth grade.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens – Of course, everyone knows this story. Besides live action films, dozens of cartoon characters have performed it as well, but have you ever read it in Dickens’ original words? It’s pretty entertaining. My kids liked it.

The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry – Okay, this one’s my personal favorite–a short story with a beautiful and memorable message.

Little House Christmases by Laura Ingalls Wilder – my other personal favorite. You can search through all the Little House books for stories of her Christmases, or there is a book in which they are all collected. I love Laura’s humble Christmases and how, despite their simplicity, they were just as fantastic and magical as any Christmas you can imagine.

The Mansion by Henry Van Dyke – especially appropriate to set the mood for the season.

The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck – My husband read this to all of us a few years ago. He doesn’t usually do the reading, so it was a good time with a good story.

The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans – a sentimental favorite for many.

And now, to conclude my read-aloud recommendation series, we get to 15-17-year-olds. Yes, reading aloud can still be fun at that age. We’re disconnecting from technology for a few minutes, connecting as a family, enjoying time as our ancestors did. Get with the program!

Whatever you choose to read will be great if your family enjoys it. Personally, I like to stick with what I consider the classics for read-aloud, simply because they, and we for that matter, may miss out on some good stuff otherwise. Classics are largely being pushed out of the schools these days in favor of newer, sometimes unwholesome, sometimes dumbed-down books. I think that’s terribly sad. Said Robert M. Hutchins: “To destroy the Western tradition of independent thought it is not necessary to burn the books. All we have to do is leave them unread for a couple of generations.” I want my children to be familiar with literary masterpieces from all time periods. I want them to hear and be familiar with how good language sounds. I want them to be acquainted with wise and uplifting thought, as well as just enjoy a timeless story. They can and do read whatever they want to on their own time, so read-aloud time is when I try to make sure we feed our minds more healthy things.

We have not read all of these. This list includes ones I’d like to get to eventually. Please feel free to comment with recommendations of your own.

Advancing in age now in the recommended read-aloud series, here are my recommendations for 12-14-year-olds. Refer to the lists for earlier ages here and here.

Some may think, as I once did, that read-aloud is only for young children. But as I thought of what families reading aloud meant in pioneer times, my perspective completely changed. In the days of yesteryear, before TV and internet fought for our eye-glazing attention, families remained close and enjoyed marvelous adventures together during evenings spent reading aloud in front of the fireplace or in dim rooms lit by candle or lantern light. Lifelong memories were made in those cabins on the frontier, or Victorian homes on city streets, wherever they called home. It’s a beautiful scene that I wanted to re-create with my own children. I hope you’ll try it too. Your children will treasure it in future years far more than other activities.

In my last post from this series, I gave my list of recommended read-alouds for 6- to 8-year-olds. Now I will post my list for the 9- to 11-year-olds. I was in that age group when my fourth grade teacher introduced me to the fascinating, imaginary world of reading aloud. She was the first teacher I can remember who read chapter books aloud to us. Every day after lunch, we’d lay our heads on our desks and listen while she read a chapter. We were so sad when she came to the end of the chapter and would beg for more. If we were lucky, she might oblige us. I credit her with igniting my fire for reading, and I thank her for that. The books I remember her reading to us are all included in the following list, and I read them to my own children. My very first introduction to the Little House series was in her classroom. It was my favorite series throughout childhood and has even had a measurable impact on my own pioneer-era stories.

I just have to tell you, one of our favorite experiences with my kids was when I read them Summer of the Monkeys with a Southern accent. You really can’t read it any other way, and it was funny and a good time!

Read-alouds are one of the greatest treasures of childhood. It transports listeners through space and time, gets children interested in reading and good storytelling, and bonds families in a fun and memorable way that cannot be matched with the TV. First, I want to share one of my favorite poems. This is the kind of mother I’ve tried to be.

“The Reading Mother” by Strickland Gillilan

I had a mother who read to me

Sagas of pirates who scoured the sea

Cutlasses clenched in their yellow teeth

‘Blackbirds’ stowed in the hold beneath

I had a mother who read me lays

Of ancient and gallant and golden days;

Stories of Marion and Ivanhoe,

Which every boy has a right to know.

I had a mother who read me tales

Of Gelert the hound of the hills of Wales

True to his trust till his tragic death,

Faithfulness blent with his final breath.

I had a mother who read me the things

That wholesome life to the boy heart brings-

Stories that stir with an upward touch,

Oh, that each mother of boys were such!

You may have tangible wealth untold;

Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.

Richer than I you can never be-

I had a mother who read to me.

In this series I will share my own read-aloud book lists. I purposely chose books to represent different parts of the world and different time periods. There are many other great books, just not enough time for them all! Here’s my recommendations for 6-to-8-year-olds.